1. Field of the invention
The present invention relates to a mold of a ball, in particular, to a mold for shaping a baseball or softball cover.
2. Description of Related Art
Currently in the construction of formal competition baseballs and softballs, the main part is the ball core, having elastic-like characteristics, and the ball cover which is constructed from an inner core covered by an outer leather cover. As shown in FIG. 1, the ball cover is made from two figure of 8 shaped covers (A) which cover the ball core (B) at the seams to form the ball shape, and where the ball covers join at the seams there is the raised sewn section, this raised sewn section being an essential part of a softball or baseball's appearance, this sewn section usually being hand-sewn which requires a high operational ability. In the current market where worker costs continue to rise, this inevitably leads to higher production costs. Additionally, the source of leather for the leather ball covers is limited and the cost of leather is increasing, making it difficult to lower production costs and therefore difficult to increase competitiveness in the market for this product. Furthermore, during the use of the ball, where the ball covers are sewn together at the seams and cover the ball core, the ball is vulnerable to the environment, for example, when the weather is humid or rainy moisture or water enters through these seams and soaks the ball core. This soaking of the core results in a heavier ball, leading to a loosening of the ball core and a shape change which influences the elasticity and properties of the ball. There is therefore, an inability to ensure the original physical characteristics of the ball, thereby hugely shortening the lifespan of the ball. For the abovementioned reasons, PU material is conveniently used as the ball cover, as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, more specifically, two opposing semi circular shaped molds 1′, 2′ fit together to form the ball cover of the ball core, this process resulting in mechanized production of the ball to reduce worker and production costs, and the PU replacing leather to reduce material costs, and at the same time producing a tighter fitting ball which doesn't allow water to enter. But because of the shape of the semi circular shaped molds, after production a line 3′ will appear where the molds join, which still requires a worker to trim the ball and therefore the manufacturing process still has drawbacks.